400 Days, that's how long they cut your orders for when you are deploying. That includes your mobilization time, your time “in-country”, and the terminal leave at the end. Today is “zero” day, it’s the report day, so it doesn’t count as one of the 400 days for the deployment.
I think calling today a zero day is fitting. It about sums up how you feel the first day. You have said all your good byes. You’ve kissed your family good bye. You’ve packed up all your “stuff” into a few bags. You’ve made the trip to wherever you are going for your mobilization site. You’ve had your first formation with your team. You’ve started to unpack and settle into the place you’ll be calling home for the next few weeks. You’ve constantly been racking your brain about what you have forgotten to bring with you…
For me, the racking your brain about what I have forgotten starts almost immediately. So far, I’ve identified a few things that I didn’t bring and either forgot or neglected to pack. Luckily, after 10 ½ years of doing this stuff, I’ve gotten pretty good at packing my gear and forgetting to pack some things isn’t as big of a deal as it once was.
So far on day “Zero”, I have forgotten the following things: a large power strip and my headset for Skype. Not too bad really, I should be able to pick both these little things up here or on my pass before I head out for the actual deployment.
I know that over the next few days that I’ll remember or think of other things that I forgot, but overall I’m pretty pleased about what I’ve forgot. Yeah, I know that it sounds funny to be happy about forgetting something, but believe me…there are some things that you don’t want to forget. Those things are usually essential items that you need. ID tags, boots, running shoes, a razor, soap, etc.
Tomorrow we start all the processing into Active Duty. It will be a long day full of briefs and medical stuff. It’s one of the necessary evils that you have to accomplish
No comments:
Post a Comment